Lift truck and adapter

ABSTRACT

The application discloses a lift truck embodying a vertically movable load-supporting member actuated by a fluid ram connected thereto through the medium of sheaves and cables, together with adapter equipment carried by the load-supporting member and having a pivoted frame with forwardly extending arms to support a bowl or other object with handles at the sides. Manually operable means is provided for pivoting the frame and releasably locking it in a selected position.

D United States Patent nu 3,591,023

[72] Inventor Murry G. McClung,Jr. 2,267,355 12/1941 Van Riper 1. 214/313 200 South Camden Drive. Beverly Hills, FOREIGN PATENTS Calif. 90212 5 pp No 855.85 112,788 4/1941 Australia 1 214/6 2 [22] Filed Sept. 8, 1969 Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza (45] Patented July 6, 1971 Assistant ExaminerRobert J. Spar [54] LIFT TRUCK AND ADAPTER 5 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

561 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,824,339 9/1931 Foradas et al.

Attorney-Wham & McManigal ABSTRACT: The application discloses a lift truck embodying a vertically movable load-supporting member actuated by a fluid ram connected thereto through the medium of sheaves and cables, together with adapter equipment carried by the load-supporting member and having a pivoted frame with forwardly extending arms to support a bowl or other object with handles at the sides. Manually operable means is provided for pivoting the frame and releasably locking it in a selected position.

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INVEN'I'OR.

BY WW, VQA/ZW QTm/QJEY LIFT TRUCK AND ADAPTER The invention has to do generally with lift trucks, often called forklifts, in which a load-supporting platform or one or more arms extend forwardly and are mounted for vertical movement, and more particularly with special equipment or adapters for lift trucks in the nature of an attachment therefor designed to handle large metal mixing bowls or other standard containers having handles at their sides such as are commonly used in the kitchens and other departments of institutions.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved lift truck of simple, compact design which is particularly suitable for use in and around institutions such as hospitals or the like where cleanliness of the equipment is a factor, and which is unusually stable for handling heavy loads.

Another object is to provide a novel lift truck which is especially designed for use in conjunction with different adapters designed to handle various types of loads and to provide such a lift truck which is particularly designed to be fitted with an adapter to handle large containers of various sizes of the type having a handle at each side, such as the standard metal mixing bowl.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide a novel special adapter or attachment for a lift truck designed to handle food-mixing bowls and other containers provided with handles at the sides, which enables the lifting, lowering and tipping of a bowl. In this connection it is an object to provide a bowl or container handling apparatus which can be readily operated by an individual for the purpose of tilting a bowl to empty the contents.

These and other objects will be apparent from the drawings and the following description. Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the front and one side of a lift truck embodying the invention shown provided with a bowlhandling adapter embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on line 2-2 of FIG. I, but on a larger scale;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 3-3 of FIG. 1, but on a larger scale;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional plan view on line 4-4 of FIG. 1, but on a larger scale;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the lift truck showing a mixing bowl supported on the adapter;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the lift truck;

FIG. 7 is an exploded isometric view of the end of one arm and a clip therefor, but on a larger scale than the previous figures;

FIG. 8 is an isometric view ofa clip provided with a pouring spout section; and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing the tipping ofa bowl.

More particularly describing the invention, numeral 11 5 generally designates a lift truck which is shown provided with a demountable bowl-handling adapter designated generally by numeral 12. The lift truck may be fitted with other adapters or accessories in place of the one shown such, for example, as simply a pair of forwardly extending arms (not shown) to make a forklift truck.

The truck 11 has a framedesignated generally 14, which includes a base plate [Shaving a generally rectangular main section 15a and a forwardly extending section 15b, the latter being reinforced by a rib 16. The section 15b and the portion of rib l6 thereunder thus form a forwardly extending leg that is supported at its outer or free end by a caster 17. The main section of the baseplate is supported on a pair of wheels 18 mounted on an axle 20 carried in brackets 21.

The frame 14 includes a pair of laterally spaced upright guide channels 24 facing each other and connected at the top by member 25. Sidewalls 26 in conjunction with a front wall 27 and hingedly mounted doors 28 and 29 provide a compartment 30.

5 crosshead 38 is mounted for movement along the guide channels, the crosshead having a pair of vertically spaced horizontal plates 39 welded or otherwise secured to a pair of rearwardly extending vertical plates 40 having guide rollers 41 and 42 to ride inside channels 24. The crosshead is connected to be raised and lowered by the piston rod by means of lines or cables 44 which are anchored at 45 on the crosshead, pass around sheaves 36 and are anchored at their other ends at 47 on a crosspiece 48 of the frame.

Any suitable means may be used for providing hydraulic fluid under pressure to operate the ram and, by way of example, I show a pump 50 in compartment 30 which is operated by an electric motor 51 powered by a storage battery 52. A battery charger 53 may be provided, if desired. Numeral 55 sure fluid to the cylinder 33 and it is to be understood that the electrical and hydraulic connections are not illustrated or described in detail since these may be conventional.

It is a particular feature of the invention that I provide the bowl-handling adapter 12 which is removably mounted on the crosshead 38. The adapter includes a main plate comprising a front section 61 and a rear section 62 connected by a top section 63, the main plate being adapted to receive and rest upon the upper edge of the crosshead.

A crossbar 65 is pivotally mounted on the main plate 60 by means of a pin 66 carried in the plate and a bearing 67 in the crossbar. A pair of arms, designated 68, are adjustably mounted on the crossbar and extend forwardly thereof, as best seen in FIG. 1. Each arm has a pair of parallel downwardly extending flanges 70 and 71 at its back end to receive the crossbar and the flange 70 is provided with a setscrew 72 to anchor the arm to desired position.

The outer end of each arm is formed to provide a raised section or pad 74 for the purpose of providing a support for the handles of a mixing bowl or other container. The pad is provided with a longitudinally extending groove 75 on each side of a center slot 76. It is only necessary that each arm have a groove between the slot and the inner side of the arm to receive and cradle the handle of the bowl, however by providing two grooves the arms are thus interchangeable for manufacture and assembly.

A mixing bowl 80, or other article to be handled, has its handles 81 received and cradled in a groove 75 of each of the arm pads, as shown in FIG. 5, and to preclude dislodgement of the handles, I provide a clip 84 for each of the pads. The clips slip over the pads after the handles are in place and thus secure them. A clip comprises a sheet metal member having upper and lower paralleled walls 85 and 86, respectively, connected by a central wall 87. The lower wall has two upwardly extending flanges, designated 88 and 89 and the upper wall has a downwardly extending flange 90 in the plane of flange 88. The upper wall 85 preferably extends laterally beyond the plane of flange 89. One clip may be provided with a pouring 60 spout 92 on top of the upper wall (or in place thereof) as shown in FIG. 8.

A latch means is provided for releasably locking the crossbar 65 in any one of several selectable positions against pivotal movement with respect to the main plate 60 of the bowl han- 65 dling adapter. This means includes a latch pin 94 in the main 70 pivotally mounted at 101 on the crossbar 65. The pin 94 is received through an oversize hold in the lower leg 102 of the lever and an operating cord 104 is connected to the upper leg 105. The cord 104 is run along a tubular handle 106 which is mounted in a threaded bore 107, the cord being secured to an 75 eye bolt 108 near the outer end of the handle. This arrangement makes it easy to operate the latch from any point along the handle, and the long handle gives adequate control for pivoting the crossbar when loaded.

In use, the raising and lowering of the crosshead 38 is controlled in the usual manner by manipulating valve means of which the part 55 is the handle. In order to pick up a container, such as a standard mixing bowl 80, assuming the arms 68 have been preadjusted to the proper spacing, the truck is moved forward to bring the arm pads 74 beneath the handles 81 of the bowl. The arms are then raised to seat the handles in the grooves 75 of the pads. The clips 84 are slipped over the pads and the bowl may then safely be elevated and transported to its destination. There it may be emptied, if desired, by tilting the main plate of the adapter utilizing the long handle 106 for leverage and positive control. Prior to tilting it is necessary to release the latch pin by deflecting the cord 104.

l claim:

1. In combination with a lift truck having a frame providing a vertical guideway, a crosshead guided for vertical movement in said guideway and powered means for raising said crosshead, an adapter comprising a main plate carried on and extending parallel to said crosshead, a crossbar mounted on said main plate for pivotal movement about an axis normal to the plane of the main plate, a pair of parallel, laterally spaced arms mounted on said crossbar and extending forwardly thereof, means at the outer ends of said arms for cradling the handles of a standard mixing bowl or other container, an elongated uprightly mounted handle attached to said crossbar for manually rotating same, and manually operable latch means between said crossbar and said main plate for releasably hold ing said crossbar in any of several positions against pivotal movement relative to said main plate.

2.-The adapter set forth in claim 1 in which said main plate hooks over said crosshead and is removable therefrom.

3. The adapter set forth in claim 1 in which said arms are adjustably mounted on said crossbar whereby the spacing between them can be varied.

4. The adapter set forth in claim 1 in which the manually operable latch means includes a latch release cord secured to said handle and running along it for a substantial portion of its length.

5. The adapter set forth in claim 1 in which each arm has a grooved raised pad at its end to cradle the handle of a container, and in which a guard clip is provided to fit around each pad. 

1. In combination with a lift truck having a frame providing a vertical guideway, a crosshead guided for vertical movement in said guideway and powered means for raising said crosshead, an adapter comprising a main plate carried on and extending parallel to said crosshead, a crossbar mounted on said main plate for pivotal movement about an axis normal to the plane of the main plate, a pair of parallel, laterally spaced arms mounted on said crossbar and extending forwardly thereof, means at the outer ends of said arms for cradling the handles of a standard mixing bowl or other container, an elongated uprightly mounted handle attached to said crossbar for manually rotating same, and manually operable latch means between said crossbar and said main plate for releasably holding said crossbar in any of several positions against pivotal movement relative to said main plate.
 2. The adapter set forth in claim 1 in which said main plate hooks over said crosshead and is removable therefrom.
 3. The adapter set forth in claim 1 in which said arms are adjustably mounted on said crossbar whereby the spacing between them can be varied.
 4. The adapter set forth in claim 1 in which the manually operable latch means includes a latch release cord secured to said handle and running along it for a substantial portion of its length.
 5. The adapter set forth in claim 1 in which each arm has a grooved raised pad at its end to cradle the handle of a container, and in which a guard clip is provided to fit around each pad. 